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Here's another good released by Cooking Vinyl. Camper Van Beethoven's "Tusk" is a re-recording of the infamous Fleetwood Mac album. There's a very interesting story behind the birth of this record, that includes happenings from a trip gone bad, being trapped in a vacation house in a ski resort and a broken armed drummer. Anyway, the recording of this material was more of a time killing activity rather than a conscious recording process. This is exactly the reason why the material was lost for quite some time, and after someone accidentally stumbled upon the tapes in a storeroom a few years later, a release was immediately planned. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who's glad that happened. The originally recorded songs were reconstructed and thrown out onto the market. Every single track was adjusted to the band's excentric and more psychedelic style and needs before they got onto the shelves of music stores. Despite the fact that the songs are re-recorded antiques, they do have a modern feel, and fit quite well into contemporary music. The production (or technical work would be better said - because I'm not sure how much the producer influenced this one) does add a little spice to the material while adding the necessary changes in the orchestration as well.
So it's not all praise for this album... I can't grade the record any more than I have because, although it does sound good, it doesn't work the original music enough to be attributed extra points (besides, "Tusk" is not one of those Fletwood Mac albums that lie close to my heart anyway). In "not working the music" I mean not adding just the right amount of change in just THE RIGH WAY (there's a lot of looping and a presence of all sorts of newer techniques rebuilding the acoustic vibe from classic towards modern). The material IS good, but not good enough for me to consider it genious. However, this CD should be a reason for pride for Camper Van Beethoven, because even though many of the most famous bands engage into re-composing material once recorded by classics, not many have the balls to release it (or work over an entire album for that matter - even if it's not releasing they have on their mind). "Tusk" is a genuine collectors item, and with just a little more caring and a little more interest from the band would bring it close to brilliant. I don't think I could consider it genious because it doesn't have the base needed for that kind of music. However, the band's efforts do deserve all my admiration.
| Tracklist |
| Disc 1 |
| 1. Over And Over |
| 2. The Ledge |
| 3. Think About Me |
| 4. Save Me A Place |
| 5. Sara |
| 6. What Makes You Think You're The One |
| 7. Storms |
| 8. That's All For Everyone |
| 9. Not That Funny |
| 10. Sisters Of The Moon |
| Disc 2 |
| 1. Angel |
| 2. That's Enough For Me |
| 3. Brown Eyes |
| 4. Neve Make Me Cry |
| 5. I Know I'm Not Wrong |
| 6. Honey Hi |
| 7. Beautiful Child |
| 8. Walk A Thin Line |
| 9. Tusk |
| 10. Never Forget |
: 79.27
| Buy other Camper Van Beethoven albums |
